After Charles Oliveira was forced out of the fight after suffering a gash in training just 12 days out from the fight, Volkanovski jumped at his second chance to become a champ-champ.

UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 | SUN 22nd OCT 5AM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports

If he can defeat Makhachev, Volkanovski will become just the fifth fighter in history to hold belts in two divisions simultaneously, joining Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo.

Some believe that Volkanovski should already be a champ-champ after he lost a controversial unanimous decision to Makhachev in Perth in February.

Volkanovski, who was on holiday when he got the call to step in against Makhachev, lost a remarkable 12kg in 11 days to make weight for the Abu Dhabi clash.

7am — Volkanovski starts with a bang

Alexander Volkanovski has been warmly received by the Abu Dhabi crowd when walking out to Men At Work’s Aussie anthem ‘I Come From a Land Down Under’.

Volkanovski was fired up and screaming to himself as he entered the Octagon.

6.30am — Savage flying knee KO

Ikram Aliskerov flattened Warlley Alves with a sizzling flying knee TKO in the first round.

Alves was trying to get back to his feet on the cage and was expecting another flurry of strikes before Aliskerov did a clever switch up to throw in the unexpected flying knee.

It landed perfectly and Alves was out cold.

Earlier, Said Nurmagomedov needed just 73 seconds to choke out Muin Gafurov.

5.30am — ‘This is crazy’: Breeden wins barking like dog

Mike Breeden has just become an MMA cult hero.

The American fighter was seen barking at his opponent Anshui Jubli as he came back from a first round bashing to pull off a massive knock out win.

Breeden was a huge underdog for the fight and decided to come out blasting in the third round knowing he had to knock his opponent out to avoid losing.

He did just that with a flurry of punches that rocked his Indian opponent to the floor.

“He’ll be thinking, ‘What in the hell’,” UFC legend Daniel Cormier said about Breeden woofing like a dog while commentating the fight for ESPN.

“This is crazy.”

Breeden said his bizarre strategy was a big turning point.

“The minute I started talking to him and pointing at him, and pointing my finger down [at the mat], that’s the s*** I live for,” Breeden said after the fight.

Volkanovski puts ‘jealous’ McGregor in his place

Alexander Volkanovski has hit back at UFC legend Conor McGregor as the pair’s bitter feud has reignited on the eve of his historic second fight with Islam Makhachev.

Volkanovski said he would gladly settle his social media feud with McGregor in the octagon after the Irishman continued his relentless social media attacks.

If Volkanovski beats Makhachev, it will be hard to deny the Aussie anything he wants, and a potential superfight with McGregor could be high on the list — even potentially at UFC 300.

McGregor’s recent insults are that Volkanovski “couldn’t hold my spit bucket, and that the Aussie is “a little sausage” who is “readable, hittable, hurtable”.

He also said Volkanovski shouldn’t be ranked No. 1 pound for pound, a position he holds with heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Speaking with Fox Sports earlier in the week, Volkanovski said the sledges were “a compliment” because of the hype surrounding the Aussie at the moment.

“He sees everything that is happening with me, the way everyone is carrying on about me, and he hates that,” Volkanovski said.

“Hates it because somebody else is getting all the attention.

“He’s jealous. Not jealous of me, because the bloke is in a f**king good position. But he is jealous about the attention I’m getting.

“That I’m higher on the featherweight GOAT list, that I’m the pound for pound king. Was Conor McGregor ever top of that list?

“I’m not sure because Jon Jones was always there, right? So I’m doing things he hasn’t done.”

Volkanovski also laughed of McGregor calling himself the “featherweight GOAT”, but did say he’d be happy to share the octagon with the Irishman.

“Does he deserve it? Look, I’d love to say that I’m so big now that it would just be an opportunity for him,” Volkanovski said.

“But let’s be real, when we are talking paycheques, when we are talking money … we both get a lot out of it.

“And I’m happy for him to share that with me. I think the fight definitely will happen because he keeps mentioning my name, keeps saying I’m a fight he wants.

“He also knows I’m a guy who fights anyone, anywhere, any weight — literally, any weight. So whatever weight he wants … let’s go.”

Over to you Dana White, let’s book it in!

How to watch UFC 294

Australian fight fans can catch all the action from UFC 294 live on Main Event and Kayo Sports.

The prelims are available to watch on ESPN via Kayo, before the action for the main card switches over to Main Event. To watch Volkanovski’s fight, you’ll need to purchase the pay-per-view at a cost of $59.95.

What time does UFC 294 start in Australia?

With UFC 294 being held in Abu Dhabi, Aussie MMA fans will need to tune in much earlier on Sunday morning instead of the usual afternoon time slot.

The prelims kick off at 1am (AEDT), while the main card will commence at 5am (AEDT).

Fight timing isn’t an exact science, but Volkanovski and Makhachev are expected to enter the Octagon around 7am.

Full card

Main Card (from 5am AEDT)

Islam Makhachev (c) v Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC lightweight title

Khamzat Chimaev d Kamaru Usman — via majority decision (29-27 x 2, 28-28).

Magomed Ankalaev vs Johnny Walker — no contest

Ikram Aliskerov d Warlley Alves — via TKO, Round 1

Said Nurmagomedov d Muin Gafurov — via TKO submission (Round 1)

Preliminary card results

Muhammad Mokaev d Tim Elliott — TKO via submission (Round 3)

Trevor Peek d Mohammad Yahya — via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Javid Basharat v Victor Henry — no contest (groin shot)

Sedriques Dumas d Abu Azaitar — via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Mike Breeden d Anshul Jubli — via KO, Round 3

Muhammad Naimov d Nathaniel Wood — via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Viktoriia Dudakova d Jinh Yu Frey — via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Shara Magomedov d Bruno Silva — via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)